¶ … Environment Assessing the Business Environment

The focus of this environmental assessment is the big box retail industry. The three environmental forces that have the most significant impact on big box retail are as follows: Demographics, technology, and economic conditions.

Demographics. The category of demographics is broadly determined as it includes, among other variables, the attributes of age, educational level, ethnic origin, gender, race, and residential area. Demographics are a prominent feature of consumer profiles and target market segmentation schemas, primarily because they represent characteristics that strongly influence purchasing behavior. The range of products offered by big box retail operations typically spans the major categories of consumer demographics, although it is not uncommon for large-scale retail companies to emphasize one or two fairly specific target markets. For instance, the marketers in the retail big box I am associated with increasingly target diverse consumers, such as Hispanics. And then, too, the managers also need to be aware of diversity in recruiting, hiring,...

Indeed, given the eponymous company name, there is little doubt about the target market; as one might guess, the Forever 21 attracts customers primarily in the 18- to 24-year-old range. Stores with a sufficiently long history (Sears) and warehouse club business (Costco, Sam's Club) continue to carry products specifically for consumers aged 50 years and older, such as hearing aides. From a management perspective, it is helpful to explore the changes that are happening in "drug stores" such as CVS and Walgreens, indicators of which are styling of shelving, signage, and aisles to make it easier for older customers to shop.
Technology. Database marketing has catapulted technology to a position of pivotal importance in the retail industry. Big box retail chains offer loyalty reward points and credit cards that enable the shopping patterns of consumers to be tracked and analyzed. For example, Target is known…